DeLauro, Murphy want 'fiscal cliff' negotiations finished before end of year

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-New Haven, wants the so-called "fiscal cliff" tax increases and spending cuts taken care of before the end of the year and Friday said she is encouraged by the latest reports on negotiations.

The 3rd District congresswoman however, told a group of senior citizens in Branford that she would not agree to certain changes in Social Security and Medicare as part of any resolution.

U.S. Senate-Elect Chris Murphy, who was in Bridgeport Friday visiting a transitional home for homeless female veterans, said he also wants an agreement worked out before the cascade of tax increases and cuts materializes and does not advocate letting them go into effect to force the parties together.

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Murphy however, said if the fix were delayed for a short time after the beginning of the year, the consequences would not necessarily be as dire as many feel.

"I imagine if a deal gets done in January or February, the consequences won't be catastrophic, but we shouldn't play chicken like that. We should get a deal done in the next two weeks. I think 70 percent of the people I represent want a deal done that is one part spending cuts and one part revenue increases on the very wealthy and we should follow their lead," Murphy said.

Murphy said any fix after the first of the year would be retroactive, including funds scheduled to be sent to Connecticut.

As for the effects on the stock market, "I think the market is smart enough to know that even if we were to not get something done (quickly), the market knows that is temporary. There might be a little bit of a disruption," he said.

There are no surprises on DeLauro and Murphy's positions as both feel the election indicates support for a balanced approach of tax increases for wealthiest Americans, some spending cuts and investments in infrastructure to work toward deficit reduction and stimulating the economy.

"I'm encouraged to see more and more Republicans in Washington are admitting that people in this country do want a balanced budget," Murphy said.

DeLauro spoke specifically to the future of entitlement programs.

"Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit. It didn't create this deficit. ... it should not be used as a slush fund for deficit reduction. We should reject any of that. It is as true today as it was in the 1980s. It has its own trust fund," she said.

The congresswoman said the focus should be on improving the benefits. She said the cost of living increase for 2013 will be $243, some $20 a month, which is not enough for seniors.

DeLauro's major proposal to save Medicare is to allow the government to negotiate Medicare drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies. The law creating this program in 2003 disallowed such negotiations, something that the Veterans Administration does for its patients.

"I do not support any cuts in Medicare benefits. We can find ways to save money, but it is not by cutting benefits or shifting the cost onto the backs of older Americans," DeLauro said. She said Medicare is already means tested and the Affordable Care Act has a 3.8 percent tax on unearned income that will be imposed on the wealthy starting in January to help pay for the program.

DeLauro was not sure if the cut in the payroll tax will be continued, while Judith Stein, executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy, who also attended the meeting in Branford, had mixed feelings about continuing to cut a tax that funds Social Security.

DeLauro said the future of Social Security would be assured by raising the amount of payroll income that is taxed.

Stein said there are a number of proposed changes to Medicare to save money that she opposes.

She said the age should not be raised to qualify for Medicare from 65 to 67 because of the workers who can't continue to do physically difficult work as they age. Pushing off Medicare coverage to a more advanced age would also add to the number of uninsured or possibly increase costs for the Affordable Care Act.

Stein said there is talk of caps on Medicare payments, such as the 60-day home care payment after hospitalization and additional caps on outpatient physical speech and occupational therapy in all settings.

"Those come hardest on our most vulnerable people with Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries who absolutely need home care long term and just some physical speech and occupational therapy in order to keep from needing more care," Stein said.

Her organization in October won a major suit against the federal Department of Health and Human Servicer's policy that only paid for therapy in nursing institutions and in home settings if the chronically ill showed continual improvements. This has now been lifted.

"This for years was the major obstacle to Medicare coverage and it is legally incorrect," Stein said.